Ornament Parade - Handmade by Grownups

Over the next few days, I will be rerunning posts where I featured ornaments from our Christmas tree. Like many of you, each ornament brings a special memory with it. These are good memories for me, but they can also bring a tear or two as I think about people from my past who are no longer with me. But with no further ado, here is the fourth set.

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Today, I'm showing you some of our ornaments made for us by family and friends. If you're into crafting, you may find an idea or two you want to try.

This is a dried orange slice that I made. I made another set I gave away with red beads glued in the middle.

This wreath was made from buttons from my grandmother's and mother's button cans. One afternoon, I sat down with my sisters, and we all made ornaments of various kinds from the buttons. We had fun reminiscing about the clothes the buttons had been taken from.

This powder puff lamb was made by a friend. Notice the clove sticks for legs.

This mailbox was made by my aunt. It has two letters and a package inside - very fun detail.

This angel, made by a friend, is crafted from two doilies.

Another friend knit the cover to this ball. I've been meaning to try this myself, but it remains on my To Do list at this point.

This painted ornament was made by the same local artist mentioned in another post. It was a coincidence, but the picture of the house looks just like my grandparents' house where my father grew up. That makes it extra special for me.

This was made by my best friend in grad school. School took up every waking minute at that point in time, so I don't know how she had time to make it, but she did. That made me appreciate it even more.

My aunt made this Queen Anne's Lace flower ornament. It is a pressed flower encased in epoxy. 

She also made this Christmas stocking.

Christmas is tomorrow, but I will be continuing with my ornament parade next week.

Until next time...

Ornament Parade - Kid's Handiwork

  Over the next few days, I will be rerunning posts where I featured ornaments from our Christmas tree. Like many of you, each ornament brings a special memory with it. These are good memories for me, but they can also bring a tear or two as I think about people from my past who are no longer with me. 

But with no further ado, here is the third set.

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We have several ornaments on the tree made by Wally, Theo, and other relatives when they were younger. What's significant about these is that most of them were made by kids more interested in jumping off the chair instead of sitting on it and doing a craft. It took a lot of effort for them to make these and that didn't go unnoticed by Ward and me.

There is a series of this kind of ornament with Wally or Theo's picture in a frame decorated by them.

This one was x-stitched by my younger cousin and was a gift for one of our early Christmas trees. I think she was in middle school at the time.

This one was made by Wally in kindergarten. I think it was supposed to be a round wreath, but the wire the beads were strung on is flexible, and the "wreath" has been in many different shapes over the years.

This gods-eye was made by my nephew. We were very proud of him for making it because working with his hands was definitely not his thing when he was younger.

Wally and Theo made this when they were in early elementary school with a group of kids in the neighborhood. 

I'm not sure how, but this was made by my niece with gelatin. Originally, it was a sun catcher, but it got too hot in the window and started to warp. Then, I retired it to be an ornament we enjoy yearly on our tree.

This one was made by Theo when he was a Tiger Cub Scout. If truth be told, I think his den leader had as much of a hand in it as did Theo.

This was made by Wally in first grade.

This is a cinnamon applesauce ornament. I helped Wally make a set of these in first grade to give to his teachers and other special adults. For the first several years, they gave off a pleasant cinnamon smell.

This is not an ornament but a decoration Wally made in preschool. The teacher spray-painted a pine cone and mounted it on a thread spool. Wally then glued sequins on it for ornaments. Many sequins have fallen off over the years, but it's still a cute little tree.

More to come...

Ornament Parade- The White House Years

 Over the next few days, I will be rerunning posts where I featured ornaments from our Christmas tree. Like many of you, each ornament brings a special memory with it. These are good memories for me, but they can also bring a tear or two as I think about people from my past who are no longer with me. But with no further ado, here is the second set.

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 The White House Historical Association, founded by Jackie Kennedy in 1961 with a mission of protecting, preserving, and providing public access to the history of the White House, puts out an ornament every year honoring a certain President. We have five of these that were gifts from a coworker and friend of Ward's.

Each one comes with literature discussing the symbolism of the ornament, a bio of the President it commemorates, and what life was like with his family in the White House. Very interesting reading, and who doesn't want a history lesson while decorating the tree? :)

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James A. Garfield

Ornament 2005 honors President James A. Garfield. He was our 20th president and was elected in 1891. He served less than a year before he was shot and later died. The ornament's color scheme and wreath design are from art objects, including china, needlework, and historic frames from the family home in Ohio. The pattern on the box is also based on wallpaper from this house. The JAG monogram is from decorations at his inaugural ball, and the ceramic stone in the middle was inspired by a period engraving of the South Front of the White House.

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Chester A. Arthur

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Ornament 2006 honors Chester A. Arthur, our 21st president. Arthur became President in 1881 after the untimely death of James Garfield. The country was recovering economically during that time, and Arthur's White House was a luxurious one. The ornament design is inspired by several motifs in the White House during Arthur's residence, many of which were designed by Louis Tiffany.

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Grover Cleveland

2007--Front

2007--Back

Ornament 2009 remembers Grover Cleveland, who was our 22nd and 24th president. He was elected in both 1885 and 1893 and was the only U.S. president elected for two non-consecutive terms. Cleveland was also the only President married in the White House. The front of this ornament is a reproduction of an engraving of that event. The back is his bride, Frances Folsom's, monogram. 

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Benjamin Harrison

 Ornament 2008 honors Benjamin Harrison. Harrison was our 23rd president, elected in 1889. The ornament is based on the family's Christmas tree, the first recorded decorated tree in the White House. The toys beneath the tree are presents Harrison's grandchildren received for Christmas.

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Grover Cleveland

2009--Front

2009--Back, This ornament honors Grover Cleveland's second presidential term, which started in 1893. It features the south facade of the White House, where you can see a lit Christmas tree through the windows of the Oval Room. This was the first electric lights used on a White House tree. The back creates a scene from a tree trimming party that the Clevelands held annually for their children and those of the Cabinet members.

Tune in next time for more of the Ornament Parade.

Ornament Parade

 Over the next few days, I will be rerunning posts where I featured ornaments from our Christmas tree. Like many of you, each ornament brings a special memory with it. These are good memories for me, but they can also bring a tear or two as I think about people from my past who are no longer with me. But with no further ado, here is the first set.

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Parade of Ornaments--Where in the World?

Today features ornaments that have a geographic place associated with them. 

This Inuk/Eskimo (choose whatever word you feel more comfortable with) child was given to us by neighbors after they moved to Alaska. We think of them when we hang the ornament every year, and we also think of them whenever we use the broom they left with us when they moved. Twenty-five years later, the broom still serves us well in our garage.

This colorful lady was given to us as a souvenir from a friend's trip to Mexico.

This is a state coin ornament from Virginia. We got it after we realized there was nothing on the tree representing Virginia where Ward was born and grew up. We may have to get another one of these from Louisiana because I realize that we don't have anything for the state Wally was born in.

Ward has cousins who live in South Africa. One of them brought this Zulu doll to us one year during a visit.

This was sent to us the first year we had moved from Texas by friends. It is also the state that Theo was born in. We have another one, but I couldn't seem to find it on the tree when I was taking pictures.

This star was painted by a local artist and has the name of the town we just moved from here in Maryland. We actually have other ornaments she painted. She and I were on the same craft show circuit for a couple of years. I was selling jewelry and felted purses, and she was selling painted things.

This ornament was made from olive wood from Bethlehem. I was given a set of them as a thank-you gift for volunteer work at my church.

This West Virginia ornament was given to me by my parents during my second Christmas away from home.

This one was given to me by my sister last year. Notice the blue and gold which are WV state colors.

And this is a fair trade ornament showing people from all around the world. This was also a volunteer thank-you gift.

After I ran this post the first time, and I said we needed an ornament from Louisiana,
friends sent this one from New Orleans, where Wally was born.

More ornaments to come.

Tis the Season

Elderly Annie does not bother the ornaments these days,
but does enjoy sitting under the tree and chewing on it.

We've been continuing to do a bit of this and that, getting in the Christmas spirit. Last night, we drove around with Christmas music playing, looking at lights. One of the local realtors sponsors a light contest. People enter, he produces a map, and then people vote on their favorite. The winner gets their December electric bill paid for by him. 

So, armed with the contest map and some Christmas CDs, we set out. Some of the displays were huge like you see on TV, and others were more scaled down, but pretty all the same. We went along the route for a while when we found a neighborhood with great lights on almost every house. It was good enough that I will tell my friends about it. After that, it was getting late, so we went home and hoped to pick up the route another night.

Flowers from Ward

I've wrapped more presents and delivered my gifts to work. Speaking of work, Ward sent me a lovely Christmas arrangement at work the other day just because. He's nice that way. We had plans for Christmas and Christmas Eve, but they are up in the air now. Some work schedules may change, and Wally and Theo have COVID. The timing is just so that they may or may not be able to be out and about by Christmas. We shall see. We will save our immediate family celebration until we can all be together and do what's safest for everyone.

When I was growing up, after my oldest sister married, we waited to open presents and celebrate Christmas until she could be there. More often than not, it was after Christmas Day. The rule was that you could open any presents from friends on Christmas, but no family presents. I didn't mind. In fact, sometimes I didn't do my shopping until after Christmas when everything was on sale. I liked that. :)

I've been making candies to give out for some gifts. And, of course, I had to do quality control and sample along the way. If I'm going to do full disclosure about that, I feel a little like I'm on sugar overload right now. Good thing I made a pot of vegetable soup earlier. Maybe the soup and the candy will cancel each other out. :)

Gotta get ready for work this evening, so

Until next time...